Forgive my rookie ignorance if any but here goes nothing. I’m usually able to find my answers on here somewhere but not this time. I posted on AZ as well but not with high hopes.
I purchased my 05.5 S4 being told that the timing chain guides were replaced along with one mechanical adjuster. The other was apparently in good condition. A good bit of time later my car developed a knock/noise near the rear of the drivers side valve cover but only when the engine was warmed up. I immediately assumed it was the adjuster as I could see the Bank 2 values jumping from about 8 to 15 or so at idle. So out came the engine. I found all the guides and one adjuster new. The other adjuster looked slightly worn so I tossed a JHM sprocket on there. Everything else looked good so the engine went back in along with a few new goodies. Initial startup went perfect with no rattles or noises. I get everything bled and took it down the road just to hear the very same rattle a few minutes later. The adjuster values are better than they were but still a little off from bank 1. At this point I can only assume it has to be a lifter or rocker but I’m puzzled because it sounds perfect when the engine is cold. I wanted to get eyes on so I ran the engine up to temperature and pulled the valve cover. Everything looked good and tight so I fired it up. Oil flow looked good everywhere but from one side of an exhaust rocker. The oil was squirting out at an angle compared to the rest. In addition, I did not hear any knocking in the few minutes it was running and it normally would at that temperature. I put some seafoam in with the Mobil 1 0w40 and idled for about 30 minutes, drained it, and replaced with Liqui Moly 5w40 to observe no change after a 20 minute drive. I did some logs before and after. The cam values look to mirror each other at higher RPM’s but not at idle. But then again, I didn’t look at the numbers until I had an issue so I could be missing something.
So I’m confused as to why this would only happen with hot oil and why it didn’t sound off when the valve cover was removed. Do I have an oil pressure issue and would the pcv system have any influence on it? Is there a way to identify a bad lifter without pulling the rockers off?
This video is not mine but his engine sound almost identical.